Steel Sweep Weekend

VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn.-Goaltending was the name of the game in Friday night’s matchup between the Twin City Steel and the Breezy Point North Stars at the Vadnais Sports Center. Goaltender Jackson Germaine made 28 saves in the Steel’s 2-1 overtime victory which improved the team’s record to 6-10-2.

The Steel started off the scoring with a goal from Jace Childs at 4:34 of the first period. Isaac Hale and Alexander Konnov tallied assists on the goal. The Steel held onto their 1-0 lead throughout the rest of the period.

The second period was scoreless, but both teams were given power play opportunities. North Stars’ Jason Pischke sat in the box for a minor penalty assessed for too many men at the 1:35 mark and the Steel were unable to convert with the man advantage. At 12:35, Steel defenseman Mathias Ahman took a minor penalty for interference and they executed a successful penalty kill.

The Steel carried their 1-0 lead late into the third period. Germaine was 1:29 away from recording the shutout when North Stars’ forward Jason Pischke found the back of the net on the power play. After 60 minutes of play, things were all tied up and the teams headed into overtime.

Overtime was controlled by the Steel. They outshot the North Stars 4-0 and only took 1:16 to light the lamp to win the game 2-1. Tony Arias picked up the game-winner, and Tanner Duffney and Jerod Sabaska each had assists on the goal.

LITTLE FALLS, Minn.-The Twin City Steel’s penalty kill was golden as the Minnesota Flying Aces went 0-7 on their power play Saturday night at the Exchange Arena. Goaltender Jackson Germaine was once again spectacular between the pipes as he made 37 saves to help propel the Steel to a 5-2 victory over the Aces.

The Aces were the first to get on the board during the first period. Forward Jake Mullendore found the back of the net at 4:12. The Steel were able to kill off a minor penalty for delay of game assessed to Jerod Sabaska at the 14:10 mark, and the period ended 1-0 in favor of the Aces.

The Steel lit it up during the second period with two power play goals. The first came from Calvin Miska at 6:35 with assists going to Jace Childs and Tyler Lodin. The second power play goal came at 13:14 from defenseman Mathias Ahman. Tanner Duffney and Chase Myers-Beck picked up the assists. The Steel killed off two minor penalties to end the period.

The penalty kill was once again huge for the Steel in the third period as they not only shut down the Aces’ power play, but also scored two shorthanded goals. The first shorty came from Alexander Konnov at 2:06, with the assist going to Jace Childs-his second of the night. Halfway through the period Childs picked up a goal of his own, scoring shorthanded with help from Konnov and Ahman to give the Steel a 4-1 lead. The Aces got their second goal of the game at 13:01 to cut the Steel’s lead. The Aces pulled goaltender Mike Stumpf with 35 seconds to go in the game, and Jace Childs found the empty net to give the Steel a 5-2 victory.

NEXT UP-The Twin City Steel (7-10-2) will head to Romeoville, Illinois, to take part in the NA3HL Showcase, which runs from November 21-25. The Steel are scheduled to play as follows: